Bush Says Colombia Trade Deal Is Dead Unless Pelosi Revives It
President George W. Bush said that a free trade agreement with Colombia is “dead'' unless House Speaker Nancy Pelosi revives it by allowing a vote on the measure.
Pelosi, a California Democrat, made a bad decision by delaying action on the accord last week, Republican Bush said in his weekly radio address. The Democratic-controlled House voted 224-195 April 10 to deny Bush's request for a vote on the trade agreement within 90 days, probably postponing action until after the November elections.
“Her action is unprecedented and extremely unfortunate,'' Bush said. “Leaders in Congress have made a serious error, but it's not too late to get it right.''
Democrats said that they don't want to kill the accord, only postpone its consideration while Colombia works to reduce violence against labor organizers and Bush agrees to their measures to boost the U.S. economy. They want Bush to sign a measure to expand aid to workers who lost their jobs because of import competition.
The Bush administration and Republicans said the delay is a snub to Colombia, a U.S. ally, and will embolden Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who is seeking to rally anti-American sentiment in Latin America payday loan. The delay may also undermine efforts to approve pending trade agreements with South Korea and Panama, Republicans said.
Bush said the Colombia trade deal would bolster U.S. national security because Colombian President Alvaro Uribe has been a “steadfast'' U.S. ally. Uribe also “has addressed virtually every one of Congress's concerns, including revising the free trade agreement to include some of the most rigorous labor and environmental protections in history,'' Bush said.
Colombia already enjoys duty-free entry for almost all of the products it sends to the U.S. — a situation Bush says is “one-sided,'' since the 9,000 American businesses that export to Colombia “face significant tariffs on their products.''
U.S. trade with Colombia was $18 billion last year, less than the value of three weeks of American trade with China.
Filed under: technology by Finance Boss